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Trope Launch Pad discard project

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Per Ask The Tropers, this thread will be used to reduce the number of old, poorly written drafts on the Trope Launch Pad. We don't want to discuss on the drafts themselves because that will bump them and mix them with active proposals.

Sandbox for the project: Trope Launch Pad Discard Project
Sandbox for discarded drafts but viable ideas: Trope Idea Salvage Yard

The first sandbox page above contains drafts proposed in the thread that are still pending and drafts that we've decided to leave alone, either with no action or a bump.
The second sandbox page is for awful drafts but viable ideas. According to moderators, badly written but interesting/tropeworthy drafts should remain on the TLP. Rather than allow low-effort drafts to clog TLP, though, the salvage yard was opened to keep just the ideas behind them, in one place.

On this thread, we will mention which drafts we think are unworkable, add enough bombs, and discard (nuke) them. Discarding requires at least 5 bombs. Among the features of "unworkable" drafts:

  • There have been no edits for a very long time, or at all
  • The draft is low-effort, containing atrocious spelling and grammar and/or little to no examples, e.g. NEVER saw THAT coming (!), Nut-Chuks
  • The draft was seemingly created so the sponsor could complain
  • The topic is People Sit on Chairs, Too Rare to Trope, a search query created by mistake, etc. and therefore not tropeworthy
  • The topic is already sufficiently covered by one or more tropes or is a duplicate of a better-written TLP draft
  • The draft is problematic in other ways, such being closely tied to a page that has been historically problematic, e.g. Fetish Fuel, Complete Monster
  • There's no discussion currently occurring in the comments to improve the proposal

If we decide to discard a draft after discussion via this thread, whoever does so must provide the discard reason in the comment section of the draft, for transparency's sake. Those looking at the discards section won't think it was nuked for no reason.

Also, check out the sister project, Trope Adoption Drive, where good drafts put Up for Grabs or abandoned can be grabbed, given a bit more improvement, and launched.

Edited by Tabs on Mar 24th 2022 at 12:02:43 PM

Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#1226: Feb 22nd 2020 at 10:58:27 PM

[up][up] Ooh. I'm not sure if that came up in the discussion. They're so similar that I'm up for discarding the draft.

Berrenta Bejeweled (she/her) (Ten years in the joint) Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
Bejeweled (she/her)
#1227: Feb 23rd 2020 at 8:52:59 AM

Tossed in the last bomb needed for "Stuck in the Hospital" (an abandoned draft) and did the deed.

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#1228: Feb 23rd 2020 at 10:25:31 PM

Hey, ~Unicorndance, you've been bumping a lot of tropes tonight; any interest in joining the project and digging up old tropes to salvage/discard?

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Unicorndance Logic Girl from Thames, N.Z. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Logic Girl
#1229: Feb 24th 2020 at 9:43:16 AM

Sure. How do I sign up?

For every low there is a high.
Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#1230: Feb 24th 2020 at 10:05:11 AM

[up] By participating. grin (i.e. there is no sign-up)

Edited by Tabs on Feb 24th 2020 at 10:05:27 AM

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#1231: Feb 24th 2020 at 11:19:15 AM

[up][up] Yeah, you just jump in and start linking this thread drafts you want us to look at.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Unicorndance Logic Girl from Thames, N.Z. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Logic Girl
#1232: Feb 24th 2020 at 5:19:48 PM

Question: This is the discard project, but apparently I can take drafts that I want to be launched here too?

For every low there is a high.
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#1233: Feb 24th 2020 at 5:21:59 PM

The original intent was purely for discarding, and that's still what we mainly focus on, but we also like to salvage drafts or ideas. So if you find older drafts that could very easily be launched, we can talk about them- and if you find drafts with good ideas that are otherwise in bad shape, we can talk about those, too.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
HeavyMetalHermitCrab Since: Sep, 2018
#1234: Feb 24th 2020 at 5:40:53 PM

^^ If you bring up a draft here, there are generally four things that can happen:

  • The draft gets bombed to hell and discarded, especially if it's really bad, makes no sense, isn't really a draft, duplicate trope, and the like.

  • If the draft is unworkable but the idea is good, we just copy the idea and link the draft in the Trope Idea Salvage Yard, and then ideally discard the draft itself. At some point we do hope to make the Yard better publicized so more people can browse it, but we should probably have a good store of ideas first...

  • It can be picked up by somebody and worked on or launched.

  • Everybody shuffles their feet and nothing much happens (usually if we can't find some kind of consensus, or no one knows what to make of the draft).

MacronNotes (she/her) (Captain) Relationship Status: Less than three
(she/her)
#1235: Feb 24th 2020 at 6:07:00 PM

I think that it would be a good idea to do a projects thread for the salvage yard once we get a decent batch of good ideas

Macron's notes
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#1236: Feb 24th 2020 at 6:26:12 PM

Oh yeah, Unicorndance, check out our salvage yard. You might get some good ideas from there- by all means, please browse and see if you're interested in adopting any of the ideas mentioned.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Unicorndance Logic Girl from Thames, N.Z. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Logic Girl
#1237: Feb 24th 2020 at 10:34:37 PM

What do you think of this lot?:

As for the yard, I've been there and I'd like to adopt the Fire = Chaos one and the killjoy one. How do I go about doing that?

For every low there is a high.
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#1238: Feb 24th 2020 at 10:38:32 PM

[up] Just go ahead and make the drafts, take the ideas out of the yard when you do.

As for your drafts, the first three seem like Salvage-Yard material, the second one can be safely discarded, and the last one...I'm not really sure.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
HeavyMetalHermitCrab Since: Sep, 2018
#1239: Feb 24th 2020 at 11:36:59 PM

I'm going to strongly suggest that Harem of Denial be discarded, for a couple of reasons:

1. What it's trying to describe isn't unique to "harem" anime or manga — this trope is everywhere in that medium.

2. The trope itself is a combination of Hopeless Suitor / Romantic Runner-Up with a dose of Rejection Affection.

There is the kernel of a good idea on the draft, though, and it comes from the page quote: the idea of a character being rejected, but they're so in love with the Love Interest that they try to keep as close and be as helpful as they can despite the fact that it hurts. There's a bit of martyrdom involved there; it could be a sub- or sister trope of Love Martyr where the abuse is purely emotional and self-inflicted.

But the draft itself? Nah, it's just applying Status Quo Is God to a messy romantic situation.

Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
Meppe Mysterious Stranger Since: Jan, 2013 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Mysterious Stranger
#1241: Feb 25th 2020 at 9:10:22 AM

Mustache of Evil sounds like chairs to me. Villain has a mustache.

Songs of Homesickness may be salvageable. At the moment it's mostly a list of songs, some more context about them would be nice.

The One Where X Finds Out Is an abandoned draft with no examples and way too long sentences in the description. The thing X finds out is that someone is in love with them.

Nuked The Funsucker may be an idea for the salvage yard. The trope is that a character is grumpy during a good time and makes everyone else miserable, but the draft is in poor quality.

Edited by Meppe on Feb 25th 2020 at 7:17:00 PM

Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#1242: Feb 25th 2020 at 9:37:49 AM

[up] The Funsucker is in the yard. Don't know about dropping Mustache of Evil. "Villain has facial hair" is not tropeworthy, but if the facial hair is iconic due to taking the look from some villain or villain archetype, then it is. The draft lists several forms it can take, like the handlebar and the Hitler toothbrush. Also, Beard of Evil is a trope. Another appearance trope, sure, but there's our precedence.

Edited by Tabs on Feb 25th 2020 at 9:38:08 AM

ElBuenCuate Since: Oct, 2010
#1243: Feb 25th 2020 at 9:40:09 AM

Personally, the description in Reappering Destroyed object seem too lacking, I'm not even sure what is trying to trope.

[up][up] I think Mustache of Evil is viable, a mustache that immediatly let you know that the character is evil. The question is if it's worthy to be split from Good Hair, Evil Hair.

By the way, I want to bring Competently Disadvantaged again. Reading the laconic and description, the general idea may be covered by Modern Major General.

Edited by ElBuenCuate on Feb 25th 2020 at 11:43:11 AM

HeavyMetalHermitCrab Since: Sep, 2018
#1244: Feb 25th 2020 at 10:02:35 AM

That is...indeed very similar. So I guess Competently Disadvantaged / Modern Major General are in a similar position to Big Star Small Town and From New York to Nowhere.

So should we bomb those two for being dupes?

HeavyMetalHermitCrab Since: Sep, 2018
#1245: Feb 25th 2020 at 10:05:43 AM

[up] As I understand it, it's basically "annoying object keeps reappearing despite character's attempts to destroy it" which would be more of a cartoon thing than anything else.

[up][up][up] Yeah, I put the Funsucker and several others in the Yard, but the drafts themselves stalled out at 4 bombs.

gc10 Human Bean from Pastastastan Since: Feb, 2019 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Human Bean
#1246: Feb 25th 2020 at 10:11:29 AM

I feel like Mustache of Evil is already covered well enough by Good Hair, Evil Hair and there's no need to split. I bombed it

Edited by gc10 on Feb 25th 2020 at 7:14:50 PM

Meppe Mysterious Stranger Since: Jan, 2013 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Mysterious Stranger
#1247: Feb 25th 2020 at 10:20:32 AM

I went ahead and nuked funsucker. Gonna go through the yard and see what else I can find with 4 or fewer bombs.

Miss_Desperado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YD2i1FzUYA from somewhere getting rained on by Puget Sound Since: Sep, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#1248: Feb 25th 2020 at 10:23:31 AM

As I understand it, it's basically "annoying object keeps reappearing despite character's attempts to destroy it" which would be more of a cartoon thing than anything else.

When you put it like that, now I'm reminded that we already have The Thing That Would Not Leave and The Cat Came Back and Clingy MacGuffin.

By the way, I want to bring Competently Disadvantaged again. Reading the laconic and description, the general idea may be covered by Modern Major General.

I agree, Yes, We DO Have This One.


By the way, should we move Animal Years from the mothball folder to the salvage junkyard?

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Feb 25th 2020 at 11:14:33 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Meppe Mysterious Stranger Since: Jan, 2013 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#1250: Feb 25th 2020 at 12:56:22 PM

I see Mustache Of Evil is being brought to our attention.

As I was saying on that draft, I think it can be workable, but we'd need to pin down exactly why the mustache emphasizes evil, which the current draft doesn't do. It's just a list of bad-guys with mustaches.

I wouldn't move Animal Years; it's been growing as Pichu-Kun has been slowly letting it simmer. I think we can remove it from the mothball list altogether. The draft itself can be salvaged.

Edited by WarJay77 on Feb 25th 2020 at 4:00:35 AM

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall

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